Hypnotherapy for Anxiety

One question that often crops up in my hypnotherapy for anxiety sessions is whether or not anxiety is exclusively a modern issue.

Nowadays our lives seem to be driven faster and faster with more and more being heaped on our plate – conditions in which anxiety thrives. So I can understand why people wonder if modern life has created anxiety – a condition that is now so common that one in five Americans are suffering from anxiety.

But the answer ­– and I am never sure if this is reassuring or not – is no. Anxiety has been a part of the human condition for as long as we have been around.

That’s a big claim, I know, and, no, I haven’t managed to find some ancient engraving on a cave wall showing an early sufferer.

The answer lies in the physiology of our bodies. Anxiety is a manifestation of the fight or flight phenomenon, which is one of the most fundamental things inside our body. This relatively simply mechanism floods our body with adrenalin when we are faced with danger or a stressful situation. When confronted by danger or stress, our ancestors had few options for survival other than fighting it or fleeing from it. Both of those responses used the adrenalin for extra strength. Fight or flight over, adrenalin used up – end of problem.

Nowadays, however, we are often faced by stressful situations that we cannot resolve so simply. Nonetheless, our physiology still works as it did before – flooding your body with adrenalin, ready to fight or flight. Unfortunately, you can’t fight or run away from a late train, a lost document on your computer or an unpleasant atmosphere at work. So the adrenalin lingers in your body and over time can build up to trigger anxiety.

Looking back in history, we can see many examples of anxiety affecting famous figures. Back in the 1600s, Oliver Cromwell experienced a lengthy period of ‘melancholy’. In the later 1600s and 1700s the condition known then as ‘hysteria’ and considered common in women seems to have often been a manifestation of anxiety. Lincoln, whose presidency came in a time of huge change, is believed to have suffered from anxiety or depression. Many less famous people experienced deep anxiety within the religious framework of sin and judgment.

So, while it’s certainly true that the structure of our modern world is one in which anxiety can thrive, it’s certainly not a modern problem.

The good news is that we have many more effective approaches to dealing with anxiety available now, including hypnotherapy for anxiety. And there will be an approach that helps you overcome your anxiety.